Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed new legislation that expands unlimited paid sick leave benefits for 9/11 first responders.
First responders to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, who later developed an illness as a result, could now be eligible for unlimited paid sick leave.
“When the towers came down, those big clouds that people breathed in, there may be people who ran from that scene, who may be diagnosed with the 9/11 disease and not even know it yet,” Clifton Park Fire Chief Art Hunsinger said.
Sixteen years after the terror attacks, Cuomo signed new legislation that assures any government employee in New York, who developed a 9/11-related illness, is eligible to apply for unlimited paid sick leave. It covers 100 percent of their regular salary dating back to the time of diagnosis.